Fender wanted to shut down guitar companies from using their Stratocaster, Telecaster and Precision body style. They fought hard for 5 years, which included over 20,000 pages of evidence demonstrating numerous guitar companies that manufactured and sold guitars which use the body design that it sought to trademark.

But what might have broke the case was TTAB argued "the Stratocaster is so common that it is depicted as a generic electric guitar in a dictionary.”

Personally, I'm glad Fender lost the case. I agree that the body-style is too generic to copyright. That would be like trying to copyright a T.V. set in a box, imagine if only RCA had rights to make a television in a box... our technology wouldn't be as good and it would be unfair competition.

No, I would agree that the headstock shape could be a copyright. And even the angle of the pickups, the configuration of the controls and pickguard could be copyright. There's no reason why a G&L pickguard should bolt on a Fender guitar.

With that said, check out the Fender Custom Shop Harley-Davidson's 105th Anniversary guitar-

I think guitar companies should have the ability to do whatever they want even if it's another companies shape, but i agree headstocks should be copywrited and pickguards not interchangable. Example the Gibson Explorer . ESP made a ESP Explorer popularized by James Hetfield and all of a suddon a gibson guitar that was pretty much dead in sales, became ESP biggest seller then Gibson say oh wait we only sold 100 Explorers sinve the 70's because ESP ripped us off, so were sueing for lost revenue,.. come on they brought it back for you and now that it's making money for someone else you want it back, that pisses me off. sorry i rambled there, lol. and yes when your 10 years old and think of a guitar you see the Strat style in your head, but you dont see a Fender. you only see a Fender once you know what it is.

It's rumored that Fender wants to become a publicly traded company. This would have gone a long way towards making their shares big sellers. Now they have to deal with the bad press/karma that this lawsuit has created, as well as the enormous debt they racked up buying Kaman (Hamer/Ovation).

I love Fender guitars. Really, I do. But they had this loss coming to them. And not defending the designs for FIFTY YEARS was just the beginning of it.

It's rumored that Fender wants to become a publicly traded company. This would have gone a long way towards making their shares big sellers. Now they have to deal with the bad press/karma that this lawsuit has created, as well as the enormous debt they racked up buying Kaman (Hamer/Ovation).

I love Fender guitars. Really, I do. But they had this loss coming to them. And not defending the designs for FIFTY YEARS was just the beginning of it.

+1

I like Fender and all their accomplishments, but I don't understand how they think they can copyright a body (unless its a copied exact to spec -- which I think is wrong). But to have a similar body style would be like Ford copyrighting a Sedan and Coupe body car-styles.

It's rumored that Fender wants to become a publicly traded company. This would have gone a long way towards making their shares big sellers. Now they have to deal with the bad press/karma that this lawsuit has created, as well as the enormous debt they racked up buying Kaman (Hamer/Ovation).

I love Fender guitars. Really, I do. But they had this loss coming to them. And not defending the designs for FIFTY YEARS was just the beginning of it.

+1

I like Fender and all their accomplishments, but I don't understand how they think they can copyright a body (unless its a copied exact to spec -- which I think is wrong). But to have a similar body style would be like Ford copyrighting a Sedan and Coupe body car-styles.

Even then, don't turm a blind eye for 50 years then go on the attack. It's very obvious it was to make money, and cut out a growing portion of the market. Noone would buy a Suhr Classic (Strat model) if it couldn't touch the Fender equivalent. However: Suhr & other manufacturers could make a Strat much better, and word got out. Fender needed to counter with products worthy of the advertisment "If you want a Strat, you won't find one better than a Fender". However, they didn't. So they just look lik ethey're saying "Hey! They're making a great product! We need to crush them!"